Larger Olympic events won't be archived online until after the prime-time broadcast

NBC announced that all sports in the London 2012 Summer Olympics would be streamed live on the internet in addition to the prime-time broadcast.

NBC said it plans to stream all 32 sports live on nbcolympics.com when the London 2012 Summer Olympics arrive this July. Rick Cordella, vice president and general manager of NBC Sports Digital Media, said the idea to stream on the Internet came from popular demand.

"The hot topic is always, 'Why don't you show all your sports live?'" said Cordella. "We wanted to take care of that."

The move may seem odd for the American commercial broadcasting television network, which usually depends on the primetime broadcast on television to draw in viewers. However, NBC has found a way to make sure the network and viewers are happy.

While all 32 sports will stream live on nbcolympics.com, the major events will not be archived until after the prime-time television broadcast. For instance, major events in swimming, diving, track and field, beach volleyball and gymnastics are important to NBC's prime-time coverage, so the live streaming version of these events will not be archived until after the TV broadcast. All others, however, will be archived immediately.

According to Cordella, the way viewers watch videos has changed over the years and it's important for NBC to change too. In addition, he said live streaming could increase viewership of an event shown later.

"We're not scared of cannibalization," said Cordella. "Anytime you have a great event that happens before it shows on the air, it increases ratings and generates buzz.

"Whatever is on schedule that day, if cameras are on it, we'll stream it."